Never Before

 

The Letter from Editor seemed a rather pollyannaish dream of a better outcome for the United States under the unprecedented autocratic rule of Donald Trump.

I invite you to consider his optimistic view of this New Dark Age of Trumpism. I hope it makes you feel comforted. Spoiler: It didn't comfort me.

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The future seems scary, but we've been here before

 

I read something recently that was mindboggling: As of July 2, we are closer to the year 2050 than we are to the year 2000. 

Once I confirmed the math – it’s correct if you count from Dec. 31, 2000 – I was left dizzy. A whole generation has passed in a blink, and it’s easy to feel like we are living in dire times.  

Climate change, political turmoil, threats of global warfare, economic uncertainty, runaway technology – the next 25 years can seem overwhelming. 

But if you look backward rather than forward, a different picture emerges. In many ways what we are experiencing is not the exception but the norm. And that gives me hope.  

Why? History is full of upheaval. Every 25-year stretch is marked by seismic shifts.   

1900-1925: The First World War; the collapse of empires and rise of communism and fascism; a global flu pandemic.  

1926-1950: A stock market collapse and Great Depression; World War II; polio outbreaks; the advent of nuclear weapons and the Cold War. 

1951-1975: The Korean and Vietnam wars; civil rights struggles; political assassinations; fears of overpopulation and famine. 

1975-2000: Regional wars in the Gulf and the Balkans; drug wars in the U.S. and Central America; the HIV/AIDS crisis; nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl.  

And then came the 25 years we just lived through. When the Y2K scare fizzled and I came to work on Jan. 2, 2000, there were no iPhones, no widespread social media, no Uber or DoorDash. Netflix? It was DVDs that came in the mail. It seems like a simpler time. 

But then we had 9/11, which changed our national psyche forever and led to America’s longest war. The 2008 financial crisis. The election of our first Black president – which sparked celebration and backlash. We faced a global pandemic, cultural spasms over race and gender and sexuality, political polarization and a digital revolution that has changed how we live, work and relate to one another. 

With a 24/7 news cycle and social media amping news into crises, it's easy to feel like things are spinning out of control. But if you zoom out, you realize every generation has stood at the edge of the unknown and faced challenges that seem insurmountable. And yet, we’ve always found a way forward. 

In each crisis, there has been progress: vaccines and medical advances, space exploration, civil rights gains and technologies that lived only in science fiction decades ago. There are dark sides to the internet and social media, but they have also connected families, democratized information, and provided opportunities for creators and small businesses.  

We’ve avoided a doomsday war, lifted millions out of poverty, made everyday life more convenient, and connected countries and cultures in ways we could have never imagined. So yes, the future is uncertain. It always has been. But that doesn’t spell doom. 

When the present feels overwhelming, I think of something the late radio commentator Paul Harvey said: “In times like these, it is helpful to remember there have always been times like these.” 

That perspective doesn’t erase our problems, but it reminds us that we’re not uniquely burdened. We’re part of a long, unbroken string of human challenges, inventions and advances.  

How do you want to shape this ongoing story? You have a choice in how you view the world and how you participate in it. 

I wish at times it was less tumultuous. But then again, it never has been. 

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So, I considered responding to his letter with a few facts:

No. Mr. Editor, I vehemently disagree. We have definitely NOT been here before.

Never before has an admitted sex offender been elected president.

Never before has a presidential candidate questioned his predecessor’s citizenship and still be elected.

Never before has a president had a massive civil fraud judgment against him.

Never before has a criminal president lied about winning an election he clearly lost.

Never before has a criminal president tried to overturn an election by organizing fraudulent electors.

Never before has a criminal president controlled a national media corporation willing to parrot his lies, hate, and false accusations, only to offer them jobs in his administration.

Never before has a criminal president sent a violent mob to desecrate the Capitol and terrorize Congress to overturn an election.

Never before has a criminal president demanded DOJ agents and prosecutors who worked to convict his thugs be fired.

Never before has a criminal insurrectionist been elected for a second term.

Never before has a criminal president praised and pardoned thugs for beating police officers bloody to overturn an election.

Never before has a criminal president fired without cause thousands of federal employees.

Never before has a criminal president shut down USAID and let 500 metric tons of food rot instead of going to hungry children.

Never before has a criminal president deprived the poor of food stamps and healthcare so his billionaire cronies and rich oligarchs could pay lower taxes.

Never before has a criminal president blackmailed and extorted the press, broadcast networks, law firms, and universities.

Never before has a criminal president crippled the CDC by appointing an unqualified Secretary of Health and Human services.

Never before has a criminal president shut down childhood cancer and other medical research out of spite for science and education. 

Never before has a corrupt Supreme Court granted a criminal president unconstitutional "presidential immunity", enabling him dictatorial power without legal accountability under the rule of law.

Never before has a corrupt Supreme Court granted a criminal president the power to dismantle public service agencies previously funded by Congress.

And never before has a criminal president written a birthday note to pedophile Jeffry Epstein saying, "We have certain things in common, Jeffrey".

Shall I go on, or am I overreacting?